Apple thinks it can be anchor for failing U.S. shopping malls
Hundreds of malls are on the brink of collapse as department stores close, victims of Americans’ appetite for online shopping. Apple, also a major player in online sales, thinks it can buck this trend.
Apple’s senior vice president of retail Angela Ahrendts told USA TODAY that Apple’s network of stores — considered the most lucrative retail space on the planet — “absolutely” have achieved anchor status. And that means the stores could provide a lifeline and draw shoppers to smaller retailers and malls.
“A mall developer will tell you there’s more traffic in Apple Stores. When we meet with mayors we tell them there’s more traffic in Apple Stores than typically (there is in) their highest tourist attractions,” Ahrendts said. “But what does that mean? What impact does that have in the community?”
She answered by saying Apple is trying to live up to the legacy for the stores established 17 years ago by Steve Jobs, notably enriching people’s lives through education.
Ahrendts was speaking at one of the company’s prized standalone retail locations, the Michigan Avenue flagship, which beckons with glass walls and a carbon-fiber roof along the Chicago River. Apple opened the store in October. Ahrendts was in Chicago with other Apple executives for an education-focused event at a high school, where Apple unveiled a $299 iPad with Pencil support for schools, and launched the Everyone Can Create educational program, which follows another ongoing learning initiative known as Everyone Can Code.
Such educational pursuits play into Ahrendts’ design for all 501 Apple Stores in 21 countries, 272 stores of which are in the U.S. Apple is in the process of making over and expanding the size of its stores, at a rate of about 30 a year; about 100 have been renovated so far.
About one-third to one-half the space in Apple Stores has been carved out for education or service. Through what it calls “Today at Apple,” Apple Stores collectively host 15,000 sessions a week, Ahrendts says, on topics that include coding and app design, movie and music creation, and presentations or spreadsheets.
Luring all those people inside the stores could be a mixed blessing, however, especially when you combine that with a program in which customers with failing out-of-warranty batteries on iPhone 6 or later models can replace them for $29 until December. The battery problem has led to dozens of lawsuits over Apple’s disclosure last year that it slowed down older iPhones to preserve battery life, The Wall Street Journal reports.
And Business Insider recently published a story in which customers compared lengthy wait times inside redesigned Apple Stores to the DMV.
Ahrendts insists Apple was and is prepared for the influx of customers. “It’s a great repair program at a great price, and it’s well worth the wait.”